New York emerged as one of the front-runners to host the 2016 Democratic National Convention. According to reports, Mayor de Blasio’s bid faces significant obstacles. Many Democrats believe that it would make more sense to have the convention in Ohio or Philadelphia, which are two major swing states.
Outside of Ohio and Philadelphia, the other cities still in the running are Birmingham and Phoenix, but both cities have drawbacks that ultimately make their bid chances slim. Birmingham is significant itself for the city’s role in the civil rights movement and would represent a Democratic descent into Republican territory. Additionally, Phoenix is currently one of the fastest-growing Latino populations in the nation. Both Alabama and Arizona are both Republican heavy states where democrats are unlikely to win.
The DNC’s site-selection committee will spent Monday and Tuesday in and around New York City evaluating the mayor’s convention plan. The plan states that the convention will be held at the Barclays Center, with most of the delegates being housed in Manhattan. According to a Democrat official, NYC is not logistically feasible to house delegates and officials as none of the hotels in Brooklyn meet the DNC’s criteria to be headquarters. In essence about 20,000 delegates, politicians, and media personnel will have to travel between Brooklyn and Manhattan over the course of three days.
Wednesday, the site-selection committee headed to Philadelphia to assess the city. Philadelphia has been seen as New York’s main competition.